India beat Pakistan in Blind Cricket World Cup final
Defending champions India beat Pakistan by two wickets in the final of the 5th ODI Blind Cricket World Cup at the Sharjah Stadium on Saturday.
Pakistan put up 307 for 8 in 40 overs. Badar Muni scored 57 in 61 balls. Risayat Khan's 48 in 38 balls and skipper Nisar Ali's quick 47 were the highlights of Pakistan innings. Deepak Malik and Rambir took two wickets each and Sunil Ramesh took one.
During the chase, Sunil Ramesh's scintillating 93 runs in 67 balls and skipper Ajay Reddy's 62 in 60 balls guided India to win, with an over to spare. Prakash and Venkatesh opened in grand style and gave India a flying start. They managed the scoring rate at 10 per over. Venkatesh scored 35 in 32 balls, while Prakash scored 44 in 42 balls.
Pakistan made it to the final after defeating Sri Lanka by 156 runs while India beat Bangladesh by seven wickets to book their place in the final. The Indian team had remained unbeaten throughout this tournament and were considered the favourites to retain their title.
Wishes poured have poured in for the team and the team captain, Ajay Reddy. Prime Minister Modi too tweeted about the same,
The Pakistan Blind Cricket Council has invited ICC CEO David Richardson, former Pakistan captain Zaheer Abbas and former Indian wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani to witness the final, said a Times Of India report.
Recently, The Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) congratulated the Indian Blind team for successfully defending the Cricket World Cup for Blind title beating Pakistan by two wickets in Sharjah. CAB joint secretary Avishek Dalmiya said in a statement,
Winning any global tournament back-to-back is never easy. This very fact needs to be looked upon in a very positive mind frame. We hope that the BCCI would consider initiating steps to promote or encourage such talented cricketers in whatever way that may be practically possible for it.
The Indian blind cricket squad called on Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, recently, at his residence. Cricket Association for Blind in India (CABI) President G. Mahantesh, also requested Kejriwal to allot a permanent training and playing ground for the blind players and also a training centre for learning.
With inputs from IANS
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